Several people approached me before preaching on Sunday to let me know that Romans 8:12-25 was one of their favorite passages in the Bible. So, I sure hope that I did that passage justice for those of you who love
This is why we must cling to the truths of Romans 5-8. In our union with Christ, God no longer determines our relationship with Him based on our sin, our fickle love for Him, or how we feel in the
Throughout this series, “United with Christ, I see things in Romans 5-8 that I’ve studied before, but they have come to me with new freshness and joy. Focusing on these chapters has given me a new sense of freedom from
Romans 6 is a breath-taking look at how the power and penalty of sin do not dominate our lives anymore. It is a text about true freedom. Freedom to live as God intended and the joy that living in that
Romans 6 talks about our real, spiritual union with Jesus. It’s about how God sees our position and status before Him. He not only relates with us based on Jesus’ righteousness, but He frees us from sin’s power and penalty
So, one of my prayers for our nation is a prayer I have for our church (which is who this blog post is for), is this: that we would be respectful, grace-filled people, who treat others who disagree with us
Sunday was a rich day with our church. I knew going into Sunday that it would be one of those days that I would look back on fondly. The main reason was the text and sermon series we were beginning.
Now, with this crazy week, I decided not to preach on 1 Timothy but to preach on “The Functional Centrality of the Gospel.” It really is the most important lesson of my life. And like I said Sunday, “if I
the church that pastor and I love the people that I get to serve alongside. I have told the Lord many times that I just can’t believe that I get to do what I get to do. Yes, pastoring is
I had a few of you ask on Sunday about how the Good Samaritan story would fit into the sermon on Sunday. It’s a great question. But here’s a very brief summary with an explanation: The Good Samaritan story was
It’s always a daunting task to teach about the role of pastors while being a pastor. I never want a sermon like that to come off as “we have it so hard” or “you just don’t know what we go
It’s funny how our background affects the way we see things. As I grew up in ministry, one of the things that always bothered me was the “glitz” of ministry. Don’t get me wrong…I was drawn to it. And at
Our last two weeks, previous to Sunday, were incredible Sundays at CLF. One of the challenges of church ministry is to fight the urge to hit home runs every week. Jeffrey Jo, being with us…home run. Easter Sunday…home run. Someone
I usually park in our new parking lot south of our church building. As I walk to the church building, I spend time praying. Last Sunday, I marveled at God’s kindness to our church and me as the pastor. I
We see it in Paul and Barnaba’s missions in Acts. And we see it in history. But that is pioneering work. They are going where the gospel has not gone before, preaching it and planting new churches. But what happens
demonstration (life) and declaration (lips), rather than a reflection of the world. What I fear, at times, is that the church attempts to placate to the world on issues of gender, sexuality, marriage, parenting, purity, etc., and in doing so,
You can’t stop a man like this from serving God’s people. He’s a “church-man” in every sense of the word. He’s got the people for “whom Christ died” in his heart.
repeating. One of the major issues with the truths of God’s word, like authority and submission, is that it has been misapplied so often that it’s hard to believe the truth. But what I said Sunday was that a truth
God has created our genders in such a way that they are to complement one another. And when each person is playing their role in their God-given gender, it honors and strengthens the other gender. It doesn’t take away from
when the gospel is preached, believed, and submitted to, it does transformative work in people, nations, and cultures. I hope you noticed the brief tracing I did through history about this. We can get lied to by our media about
The servants at CLF humble me. So many gifts on display…givers, gifts of hospitality, mercy, compassion, teaching, discernment…the list could go on and on. But what makes the gifts function so well at CLF right now is the posture people
I thought about this Sunday afternoon. One way to look at false doctrine is as wrong doctrine. It just teaches us the wrong way to be made right with God and one another. That might make it more clear when
Rightfully so, Christians get frustrated and disillusioned by conflict. And many will say, “this isn’t how it’s supposed to be” or “this isn’t right.” But few Christians are willing to apply what God has taught us in His word to
I picked out two of the most common sins that create division in the church: gossip and slander. I could’ve done more, but those are sadly the most common sins. Scripture gives us clear guidance on handling such things, but
When I began to believe that God loved me more than I could ever imagine because of Jesus, I stopped living for others’ approval because I didn’t “need” it anymore. Rather, in Christ, I had all the love I could
The fact that there are two types of forgiveness listed in the Bible was new information for some of us. But when there is no confession of sin, there should not be spoken forgiveness to the sinner. Reasons for this
Here’s the point: for Christians, we’re the only people in the universe who have the power of Christ at our disposal to pursue peace and reconciliation. Yet, most of the time, the issue is that we don’t plug into that
As we noticed Sunday, God came to us in the person of Jesus. His coming to us shows us how reconciliation works. The offended party goes, ready to forgive. In reality, Christ came to us to reconcile us to God
These comments are reminders that this series is more like preventative medicine. Our church has enjoyed a wonderful season of unity, joy, and care. The Lord has been very kind to us. And this series is one of the ways
and see how redemptive history plays out, leading up to Jesus’ coming. Personally, I was freshly affected by this series. I was reminded of great truths of God’s love for us in Christ, of the wonderful thought that we can
But there is a severe issue with this “love myself first” strategy. Namely, it is not the way that God created us. God created us to love God and love others, with the same type of “others-focus, sacrifice” that we
One of the challenges for me in preaching on the theme of “Joy” is the amount of time that I’ve heard sermons on this subject attempt to define the difference between joy and happiness. Most of the time, this is
I’ve got to admit, these Advent sermons are growing on me:). I’ve really enjoyed the sermon prep, and I’ve been deeply affected by what I’m learning again. Thinking through big themes, like hope and peace, in the Bible has been
I must admit that I’ve always been a bit of a non-traditionalist when it comes to the church history calendar. I cannot explain it except for my youthful zeal. Honestly, I’ve watched churches and people observe traditions, without any connect
From Thursday-Sunday of this past week, our elders (pastors) and our wives went to Sunriver for our annual Elder/Wives planning retreat. I thought I would take a few moments in this post to talk about why this is important and
During Bill’s sermon on Sunday, I was really encouraged by his introduction as he compared the division in the Church in Corinth, with the joy that we have experienced at CLF. But what I appreciated about the introduction, was the
Here’s what I desire for CLF: I want us to be courageous to make decisions that we have prayed about, researched, and we believe are best for us and our families, without the fear of being criticized or falsely accused.
In Sunday’s text, we ran into 1 Corinthians 15:29 that’s just really hard to translate. So, without giving you hundreds of different approaches/interpretations of this, let me just offer two of them that I think are the most plausible.
The Church gathered on Sunday mornings is a cosmic event. It’s a moment in time when we gather together to say, “Jesus is King.” It’s a moment when in unison, we sing praises to the One true God.
In both sermons I thought, “with the treasure that I have in Christ, why do I not read God’s word more and pray more often?” My prayer is that I will apply the things I’ve heard from these two wonderful
Sunday was amazing. When we go to the baseball field, I get the unique privilege being in the 1st base dugout until it’s time to preach. The viewpoint from down there is awesome. I can hear the crowd singing, see
I literally can allow situations to dominate my thinking, my time, and my headspace. (Anyone else?) And, because I’m naturally persuaded by my own arguments or ideas (which is pride), I have a tendency to not listen very well to
When we recognize that Jesus is God’s final revelation about His character and how to be right with Him, we can stop wrestling in our souls. Here’s what I mean: so often, we feel like we need to be in
It’s crazy to think that the last time we were all together in 1 service was March 15, 2020. Our church has responded very well to the changes in the past year. Together, we have served each other, worked
One of the verses that I’ve kept at the forefront of my thinking has been Psalm 115:1, which says, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love
Well…we safely made it through 1 Corinthians 14! There was no food fight in the cafeteria and we came out the other side with no one hanging from the rafters or doing cartwheels down the aisles! Seriously, it has been
One of the challenges with this particular gift is how much misapplication has happened with it and how much hurt has happened because of that.
I think it’s very interesting how Paul put 1 Corinthians 13 right before his discussion about prophecy and tongues in chapter 14. Those two gifts, especially tongues, seemed to cause the most issue in Corinth. And…they’re still an issue today.
One challenge with preaching on a familiar text, like 1 Corinthians 13, is that it’s…familiar. When a text is so widely known, the danger for me is to try to be cute or “original”. You know what I mean…try to
It’s an art to give honor correctly without flattery. Honor is about recognizing the work that God is doing in a person’s life and honoring them for obeying God or doing something well.
One of the things that I’ve been particularly burdened about as a pastor is to take the ‘weirdness’ out of spiritual gifts and if I can be frank here, take the ‘weirdness’ out of being a Christian. By that, I
Grace is more powerful than our sin. Grace is more forgiving than our consciences. And grace motivates us to change and inspires us to love Jesus more.
We must admit that much of the confusion about gender and gender roles is not because God is not clear or that God has not spoken. It has to do with the Church misapplying or even in some cases, abusing
When the power of God goes to work in our lives after we believe in the gospel, God begins to open our spiritual eyes and appetite to a variety of things. One of the areas that happened to me was
In my years in the ministry, I have found that people like to put on fronts, like to protect their reputations, and are afraid of being exposed. I’ve said often, “everyone wants accountability until they get it.” It’s true. We’ll
When you read this text, especially when you see that the Old Testament people were “overthrown in the wilderness” or “were destroyed by the Destroyer”, it creates some challenges for us. Were these people Christians? What happened to them? And
It’s never easy to talk about suffering and trials. It’s much easier to speak about God’s promises, God’s grace, and the empowerment to overcome sin. But Scripture is full of suffering examples: Joseph, people of Israel, and most importantly, Jesus.
There is so much to be said about the Church. I really wanted to help all of us see how the Church benefits to our souls. The combo of “drawing near to God” and “drawing near to one another” was
I have really enjoyed this sermon series. In hearing from many of you, it seems this series has been needed and encouraging. My prayer is that it’s a good launching point for 2021. We are children of God…adopted by God’s
For a long time in my Christian life, I found myself on the “tread mill”. Things seemed to always be a big deal or worse or better than they actually were; I didn’t find much traction; or I was up
It is always amazing to me how the Lord providentially puts us in a text that fits perfectly with issues in our world. That was certainly true this past Sunday.
I was looking forward to opening up the new year at CLF because of this. It’s just felt like we need a fresh beginning. That’s part of the impetus for the series, “Children of God”.
I love preaching at CLF. I love my “home field” and I am eager each week to see the “upturned faces” and m hope each week is to turn those faces to their Savior and King, who is the best
It was a delight to step into our Christmas series this year. I really got a sense as we started planning for this series that it was needed.
There are so many various directions that a text like 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 can take you, that’s it’s tough to stay on track. My hope from Sunday was to make sure that we noticed/remembered the context of 1 Corinthians 8
A major principle: Love should win the day because Christ has won our hearts. Let that guide all of this.
Learn how to prepare your family and home for a potential disaster.
Doing an overview of 1 Corinthians 5-7 is a challenge due to the vast amount of information that is covered. When I went back and reviewed for this sermon, I was struck that I had preached 10 sermons in these
The texts from 1 Corinthians 7 have been incredibly challenging to interpret and then make clear. Much of the dilemma is cultural, but the syntax, grammar, and language also made these sections really hard. So, my prayer is that throughout
ALL of God’s people are in ministry, at one level or another. And when Jesus enters our lives, he doesn’t expect us to move, change locations/jobs/spouses/etc., to be better Christians or be more acceptable to God.
Marriages that represent Jesus and His church are desperately needed and the Lord has given us everything we need to serve Him faithfully in our marriages: the power to change; the grace to forgive; the church to mentor, counsel, &
I added some thoughts in 1st service that I didn’t add in the 2nd, and vice-versa. For instance, in the 2nd service, one thought I gave that I didn’t say in the 1st service, was that as Christian parents, raising
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had a desire to provide hope and help during all the craziness. As I mentioned at the outset of yesterday, our goal has been to shed some light on the reality of the craziness…a
As I prepared for this week, I was very mindful of so many of the “ironic” cultural moments. I mentioned several of them in the sermon: abortion clinics being open and churches being closed; gathering to worship Jesus is deemed
There have been few moments in my ministry that have happened where the Lord seemed to change directions on me at the last minute. This past week, really wasn’t one of those.
We finished up our Summer Psalms Series on Sunday. And what a great series this has been. When the idea for this series first popped into my head, I wanted it to be a “refreshing summer experience”.
I love that our people love God’s word; respect the preaching of God’s word; and are expecting the preaching of God’s word. I am very grateful for what the Lord has done at CLF and what He continues to do.
The past couple of weeks have allowed me some needed time off. As a general rule, the elders have asked that I am in the pulpit at least 44 out of 52 Sundays. This allows for our church to benefit from the wide-range of other men, who can preach God’s word to us. One of the joyful challenges we’re currently facing is that we
One of the challenges of doing multiple services is that it really doesn’t matter what you try, no 2 services are the same. One feel rushed, the other feels too slow. One feels forced, the other feels free-flowing. One feels like there’s a time crunch, the other feels like there’s no clock. However, this past Sunday was different…both services were the same. They had the same pacing,
This past Sunday was a unique one for me. I was able to take the Sunday off, be a church member, and sit with my family. It was amazing. I really enjoyed being part of the crowd and not having any responsibilities, except to fellowship, sing, pray, listen and heed God’s word being preached, and pray for all involved. It really was a joy. Sitting with my
Well, it’s been a few weeks since I sent out my musings. Lots has happened. Doesn’t it feel like the world is changing every few hours? I look up from my desk or head out the field and it seems like something new has been recommended, required, or ordered. I’ve literally had to keep my “head on a swivel”… Since our last time, we had our
For the first time since starting 3 services, I finally “hit the wall” in the 12:00 service yesterday. I preached about 10-15 minutes shorter and when I got done, I thought that I might’ve left something out! So, if you were in that service and you felt gypped ?, get the video/audio from the website tomorrow. But man, was I tired. Not sure what happened. Now, onto
Well, Sunday with 90/service went off without a hitch. Amazing Sunday! I’m very grateful for the way you have navigated through this season. CLF, you continue to amaze me with your gratitude, generosity, and eagerness. Thank you. Here are several things from Sunday’s sermon that I didn’t cover: Christian Freedoms with food/drink: One of the issues in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 that we didn’t cover was how
Sunday was one of the smoother Sundays for us, since we started the re-opening. There was a great spirit at church and many remarked about how great it was to be back in the building. We agree. As Dave Quilla has said often…those of us doing the services each Sunday get to see 75 people each week. It’s been awesome. One of
There’s a ton to get to after Sunday’s message, so let me say a few things at the outset: This is a little longer post than normal, so I’ve tried to highlight the various sections so you can skip to things that might interest you more. I will be putting something this week about the President’s comments on Friday about churches and
A full day of services, preaching 3 services, and hearing other voices in the church building…let the musings begin. Sunday’s services: I cannot tell you how excited I was (and am) about Sunday’s services. It’s the first time since March 15th that we had an in-person church service. I didn’t sleep well (more on that in a moment) but I was full of faith
We put out an important video this past Saturday and I want to take on that, so you can hear a little more of our thought process. You can see that video here: https://clfroseburg.com. Also, I wanted to give some of the quotes from Sunday’s sermon and also talk about why I did what I did on Sunday to help you see the importance of
Pastor Dave York is joined by Elder Bill Heard in this episode of “Thursday Thoughts”. Together they look discuss the question “How has CLF decided to respond to the pandemic?”
There’s quite a bit that I want to say about Sunday’s sermon, so let’s just get right to it. Sunday’s sermon: Let’s start with things that need some clarification: In one point of my sermon, I mentioned that some believe this COVID-19 thing is a hoax. That needs to be cleaned up a bit. Here’s my concern and here’s what I meant to say…regardless
Pastor Dave sits down and looks at the question, “What is God doing in me during the pandemic?”
Sunday’s sermon was challenging on a few levels. One, the text was challenging. Two, not having people in the building to look at, to insure that the concepts were coming across clearly, was challenging. Three, there is so much more to say on this text. So, what I hope to do in this edition of ‘musings’ is to explain a little more. Sunday’s sermon: One
Pastor Dave sits down and answers the question, “What is God doing during the pandemic?”
In the weirdness of our times, I really cannot thank you guys enough. Our church has been so encouraging and helpful throughout this time. I’ve heard from many of you, expressing your gratitude, as well as giving us areas of improvement. The gracious critiques, as well as the encouraging words from you have been amazing. Thank you! Also, coming up in the coming weeks, after hearing
As we set out to plan the Easter series, our hope was to give you online content that would encourage you and prepare you for Easter Sunday. We really cannot thank you enough for the notes of appreciation and how this series helped you. I’ve said this a number of times, but I’m very grateful for Perry’s work in recording, editing, coaching me along,
These are just some ramblings about a variety of things that I hope will give some thought and insight into what we’re thinking during this really odd time in our country. Not to mention, I hope it will give you some thoughts on what we’re learning (CLF Staff anyway) through all of this. Thoughts on Sunday’s sermon and “Easter in Real Time” video
Well, the odd new normal, at least for a few more weeks, is upon us. Doing live-stream wasn’t as weird as last week and working hard to speaking into the camera, isn’t as difficult. However, I don’t know about you, but “doing” church in an empty building, makes me long for the days when we’re all together again. After watching the President’s news briefing on
Well, where to begin…I really have no idea, but off the top of my head, let me start with this past Sunday. Thoughts on Sunday and Sunday’s sermon (I’m just going to randomly put ideas that have come up and these are in no particular order): My wife has always told me that she can tell when I’m feeling awkward or a
CLF Family, As I mentioned in my letter last week to you, these are unprecedented times for us. I think I’ve said, texted, and emailed words like: “unreal”, “shock”, “unimaginable”, more than I have at any other time in my life. Those words really describe my emotions. It certainly seems like there are some days where things ratchet up and go at
Well, a ton happened this past week and I wasn’t able to get musings out last week, so I’ll try to keep this post just on some recent happenings. I hope this gives you some insight into how some decisions are made at CLF and why they’re made. A deep bench: First, I think it’s important to highlight an important thing that’s happened
There are times when I feel my weakness while preaching more than others. Sunday was one of those and these are days that are like milestones or stand out days that remind me of God’s faithfulness to His people, over and over. There were a couple of reasons for this: 1) This was the longest manuscript I had taken to the pulpit in quite a long